Re: [MOSAIC] question for Terry Decker/supervising ed techs
Hi Cathy, I'm sorry I'm so slow getting a response to you. Life's been very hectic, as you know from the teaching at the end of the year perspective. As for supervising EAs, I've found it to be one of the most rewarding parts of my job as our school's Title 1 teacher/Literacy Specialist supervisor. There are a few things that I think have helped our team to be successful, and I hope this is what you're wanting. If not, maybe this will trigger specific questions I can answer. 1) Hire the right EA. If you have input on personnel, I'd opt for experience as much as possible. I have 3 retired teachers on my team, and they're wonderful. They have the background, the teacher work ethic, and the love of children. I also have 2 EAs who have worked in Title for many years and one certified teacher (secondary math--but still a teacher) who just wanted part-time because of family...It helps when your EAs don't have to learn the ropes from the ground up. 2) Take time to train your EAs on exactly which programs, progress monitoring tools, and routines you want to use. Make sure he/she can use materials with fidelity. 3) Find a way (and this is a hard one for me, but I found it helps a lot ) to do regular mini-observations on your EA to support her/him and for your peace of mind that the students are getting what they need. This will also help support the EA and give you the opportunity to answer specific questions about practice. This is particularly important if your EA has no prior teaching background. 4) Meet weekly to go over the data he/she has collected on students. You should be the one to enter that data into whatever record-keeping system you use, so you know exactly where each student is working. 5) Build a professional and friendly rapport with the EA. Those weekly meetings give you the opportunity to listen to the EAs insights and feelings about the chilodren he/she teaches, and are usually insightful. 6) If you learn something new/know of available professional development opportunities that would be beneficial, help to facilitate the EA's professional growth. For example, I scheduled a training from our district ELL department on SIOP techniques, which was very beneficial and appreciated. You don't have to do all the training yourself. I hope this helps. One of my favorite reading gurus, Richard Allington, is very against the use of EAs, saying that the least trained people are working with the neediest children. He is undoubtedly correct most of the time. But if you can hire experience, train carefully, and monitor effectively, I think you'll get a lot of bang for your district's buck. :) Terry --- On Mon, 5/28/12, CAG cag...@myfairpoint.net wrote: From: CAG cag...@myfairpoint.net Subject: [MOSAIC] question for Terry Decker/supervising ed techs To: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group mosaic@literacyworkshop.org Date: Monday, May 28, 2012, 6:06 PM Hi, Terry. I couldn't quite tell what your address was so am emailing you here. You can email me off-list at cag...@myfairpoint.net. I would like to talk about supervising ed techs/EA's/other staff, as I'm supervising 1 ed tech for RTI, and I'm not sure I'm doing it the best it can be done. I'm open to anyone else being in on the conversation as well. Thanks. Cathy We have done Walk to Read for 3 years now, and it has made a positive difference in the reading success of the students at my school. Classroom teachers are still using the reading series for whole class instruction and are using literacy workshop too. We have a mandated 90 minutes of reading instruction, and the Walk to Read is 30-35 minutes of that. Our district funded 4 literacy assistants, who, along with the Title 1 staff, help us to place every child in appropriate materials for their rate and level of instruction. As the Title 1 reading specialist, I supervise the lit EAs and Title staff. Additionally, I pull Tier 3 students for another dose of focused instruction in the afternoon. \ We are moving to an RtI-like process next year, which I eagerly anticipate. Terry ___ Mosaic mailing list Mosaic@literacyworkshop.org To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive ___ Mosaic mailing list Mosaic@literacyworkshop.org To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive
Re: [MOSAIC] Words Their Way
On Mon, Jun 11, 2012 at 12:18 PM, Beverlee Paul beverleep...@gmail.comwrote: ... another teacher and I compared results for eight years since neither of us could convince the other we knew a better way. She taught spelling with workbooks. I taught no spelling in her way of thinking. No formal spelling program in my room. We gave tests at the end of every single year of about 220 words, being very sure the students couldn't help themselves in any way. First thing: my kids scored SIGNIFICANTLY higher than hers every year. Second thing: she still didn't change her practice. More later. http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive Re: she still didn't change her practice -- don't have it at my fingertips, and it was based more on right-wing, left-wing political views -- research a few years back, that shows even when people are shown to be wrong (by the facts) they actually become *more* entrenched in their thinking!! ? [Are we doomed?] Also, I think your comment speaks to, we must (instead? in addition?) teach children to CARE that they spelled correctly. ?? Various means, re this. Simple gimmick, among others, not re 'caring' but re high frequency/commonly misspelled (gril, agin, etc.) -- I have done ticket out the door asking kids in the door line-up to spell some of these (with word wall, looking or not looking). Tedious (too long also) to do with everyone, but you pick random kids (or every third, or whatever); also get them (sometimes) to ham it up (be loud, or rhythmic) as this is also how we teach piano. ;-) (Vary the rhythms in scales etc., solidifies that muscle memory, is the idea.) Plus the 'fun factor' cannot be underestimated, as to value in daily classroom life! Fantastic discussion, thanks everyone. Linda Rightmire SD #73, Kamloops, BC ___ Mosaic mailing list Mosaic@literacyworkshop.org To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive
Re: [MOSAIC] question for Terry Decker/supervising ed techs
Terry, I leave in your full comments on EAs. Great suggestions especially with the amount of back and forth interaction you have detailed. Interesting comment re Allington -- also a longtime favorite of mine -- that he disagrees with EAs for assisting weaker students. I know one of his major points is expert help for those kids. However, I feel a live, warm body is better than a computer (that responds with whatever ding or boink when you're right or wrong ;/ ). I speak of using volunteers. I recruited volunteers very selectively -- not from the general parent population per se, but often from my educated friends (including retirees). (My husband will regularly find me at a gathering chatting up a friend -- turns out we're discussing whether I can rope them in to help one half hour a week.) No they are not trained specifically at length -- but I did train them and give them ongoing feedback. I have had this argument with other university personnel, and I think those kids need *both* (obviously, I'd say). They need my expertise, but they also need a lot of oral reading practice at a suitable level (in self-chosen material, another Allington 'pillar' of reading instruction) -- practise reading with a friendly adult who has a bit of training. You can train as to 'pause-prompt-praise' (just one simple approach people can remember, not my invention). For example, it is common for adults to think they must instantly say, no, and interrupt that second. Reading Recovery taught us to use -- *after* the paragraph or whatever -- Let's look at that, there's a tricky bit here, and You said whatever miscue -- what would we expect it to look like [or sound like] if it was miscue? In more substantial material (or with very struggling students) I would also encourage the adult to take a turn -- read for a page or two, just to improve comprehension, establish some of the vocabulary, share enjoyment, etc. And so on. Great stuff, thanks, Terry. Linda Rightmire SD #73 Kamloops, BC On Thu, Jun 14, 2012 at 9:51 AM, Terry Decker deckerteac...@yahoo.comwrote: Hi Cathy,I'm sorry I'm so slow getting a response to you. Life's been very hectic, as you know from the teaching at the end of the year perspective. As for supervising EAs, I've found it to be one of the most rewarding parts of my job as our school's Title 1 teacher/Literacy Specialist supervisor. There are a few things that I think have helped our team to be successful, and I hope this is what you're wanting. If not, maybe this will trigger specific questions I can answer. 1) Hire the right EA. If you have input on personnel, I'd opt for experience as much as possible. I have 3 retired teachers on my team, and they're wonderful. They have the background, the teacher work ethic, and the love of children. I also have 2 EAs who have worked in Title for many years and one certified teacher (secondary math--but still a teacher) who just wanted part-time because of family...It helps when your EAs don't have to learn the ropes from the ground up. 2) Take time to train your EAs on exactly which programs, progress monitoring tools, and routines you want to use. Make sure he/she can use materials with fidelity. 3) Find a way (and this is a hard one for me, but I found it helps a lot ) to do regular mini-observations on your EA to support her/him and for your peace of mind that the students are getting what they need. This will also help support the EA and give you the opportunity to answer specific questions about practice. This is particularly important if your EA has no prior teaching background. 4) Meet weekly to go over the data he/she has collected on students. You should be the one to enter that data into whatever record-keeping system you use, so you know exactly where each student is working. 5) Build a professional and friendly rapport with the EA. Those weekly meetings give you the opportunity to listen to the EAs insights and feelings about the chilodren he/she teaches, and are usually insightful. 6) If you learn something new/know of available professional development opportunities that would be beneficial, help to facilitate the EA's professional growth. For example, I scheduled a training from our district ELL department on SIOP techniques, which was very beneficial and appreciated. You don't have to do all the training yourself.I hope this helps. One of my favorite reading gurus, Richard Allington, is very against the use of EAs, saying that the least trained people are working with the neediest children. He is undoubtedly correct most of the time. But if you can hire experience, train carefully, and monitor effectively, I think you'll get a lot of bang for your district's buck. :) Terry ___ Mosaic mailing list Mosaic@literacyworkshop.org To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to
Re: [MOSAIC] independent reading
On Tue, Jun 12, 2012 at 8:22 AM, Renee phoenix...@sbcglobal.net wrote: This is a very short article that speaks to the power of independent reading. We've had discussions here over time that include a fairly wide variety of philosophies about independent reading time. This is worth your time. Look at how much time each day these students just read. http://www.oregonlive.com/**news/oregonian/steve_duin/** index.ssf/2012/06/steve_duin_**in_larry_burts_fift.html http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/steve_duin/index.ssf/2012/06/steve_duin_in_larry_burts_fift.html Renee! So exciting to read this. This is pretty much the 'upper intermediate version' of what I've promoted for a long time. I observed a grade six/seven teacher doing this; always trying to pass it on. He had decided the writing activities associated (with Reader's Workshop) were too complex for some, babyish (note the article) for others; too time-consuming to get the best from kids and also mark, etc. So he just began getting loads of books from the downtown library, all kinds, including adult books, and offered them to his kids. Yes there was a learning curve as he prodded kids to make more suitable choices; that phase was about a month of the fall if I recall. His kids read the first hour of each day. Yes it was also June when I visited -- two weeks before school's end (we go till the very end, here). I observed kids go into the same lost in book positions described in the article -- including the kids outside his door in the grass, on this beautiful sunny day! He spent the hour conferencing with individual students on books they'd recently finished -- perhaps ten or fifteen minutes each, about five or six kids in the hour (so in the week you've done your whole class). I thought it was remarkable but not surprising on examination -- you can readily confer on a book you have no knowledge of, using the dust jacket, picking some spots not quite at random, meaning behind the title and so on. Didn't he feel it risky, I asked -- adult books and so on? He just used his best judgement and hadn't had any problems. In one noteworthy situation I observed in that hour, he explained to me afterward, he figured the boy was out of his depth a bit, with that novel. He had clearly missed a bit of the symbolism in the title (a wilderness quest kind of novel). But the boy, a weaker student, was so jazzed about the book, said it was the best book he'd ever read, and so on -- I had to consider it a hit rather than a miss? (Mortimer Adler, in his wonderful How to Read a Book, urges people to take on harder material and really, just motor through it the best you can.) Another telling point: in a workshop I presented the next year, a former high school teacher who'd come down to grade seven spoke up. She smirked, I'd say. She *complained* that she got his kids, in the past -- they were a feeder school for hers. It was annoying, she said -- kids from his class were constantly found sneaking novels out of their desks to read, when they were supposed to be doing work for her. (I had to question, privately, her power of engagement!) And I'd be more than happy to have lots of kids stealing time to read. ;-) Sorry if duplicated; I have enthused about this before, don't think here though. Linda Rightmire SD #73 Kamloops BC ps My son in grade two, partway through the year, didn't like his teacher that much; the complaint -- they didn't get to read, he said. (At least, not how he -- or we -- think of reading.) ___ Mosaic mailing list Mosaic@literacyworkshop.org To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive
Re: [MOSAIC] question for Terry Decker/supervising ed techs
Thanks, Terry and Linda. I agree 100% with both of you and everything you say. Linda - I like the phrase 'pause-prompt-praise' - I needed something easy to put in volunteers'/EA's brains. Terry - your third point of mini-observations is my biggest discomfort. Can you speak more to that? Thanks. Cathy - Original Message - From: Linda Rightmire lindarightm...@gmail.com To: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group mosaic@literacyworkshop.org Sent: Thursday, June 14, 2012 7:44 PM Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] question for Terry Decker/supervising ed techs Terry, I leave in your full comments on EAs. Great suggestions especially with the amount of back and forth interaction you have detailed. Interesting comment re Allington -- also a longtime favorite of mine -- that he disagrees with EAs for assisting weaker students. I know one of his major points is expert help for those kids. However, I feel a live, warm body is better than a computer (that responds with whatever ding or boink when you're right or wrong ;/ ). I speak of using volunteers. I recruited volunteers very selectively -- not from the general parent population per se, but often from my educated friends (including retirees). (My husband will regularly find me at a gathering chatting up a friend -- turns out we're discussing whether I can rope them in to help one half hour a week.) No they are not trained specifically at length -- but I did train them and give them ongoing feedback. I have had this argument with other university personnel, and I think those kids need *both* (obviously, I'd say). They need my expertise, but they also need a lot of oral reading practice at a suitable level (in self-chosen material, another Allington 'pillar' of reading instruction) -- practise reading with a friendly adult who has a bit of training. You can train as to 'pause-prompt-praise' (just one simple approach people can remember, not my invention). For example, it is common for adults to think they must instantly say, no, and interrupt that second. Reading Recovery taught us to use -- *after* the paragraph or whatever -- Let's look at that, there's a tricky bit here, and You said whatever miscue -- what would we expect it to look like [or sound like] if it was miscue? In more substantial material (or with very struggling students) I would also encourage the adult to take a turn -- read for a page or two, just to improve comprehension, establish some of the vocabulary, share enjoyment, etc. And so on. Great stuff, thanks, Terry. Linda Rightmire SD #73 Kamloops, BC On Thu, Jun 14, 2012 at 9:51 AM, Terry Decker deckerteac...@yahoo.comwrote: Hi Cathy,I'm sorry I'm so slow getting a response to you. Life's been very hectic, as you know from the teaching at the end of the year perspective. As for supervising EAs, I've found it to be one of the most rewarding parts of my job as our school's Title 1 teacher/Literacy Specialist supervisor. There are a few things that I think have helped our team to be successful, and I hope this is what you're wanting. If not, maybe this will trigger specific questions I can answer. 1) Hire the right EA. If you have input on personnel, I'd opt for experience as much as possible. I have 3 retired teachers on my team, and they're wonderful. They have the background, the teacher work ethic, and the love of children. I also have 2 EAs who have worked in Title for many years and one certified teacher (secondary math--but still a teacher) who just wanted part-time because of family...It helps when your EAs don't have to learn the ropes from the ground up. 2) Take time to train your EAs on exactly which programs, progress monitoring tools, and routines you want to use. Make sure he/she can use materials with fidelity. 3) Find a way (and this is a hard one for me, but I found it helps a lot ) to do regular mini-observations on your EA to support her/him and for your peace of mind that the students are getting what they need. This will also help support the EA and give you the opportunity to answer specific questions about practice. This is particularly important if your EA has no prior teaching background. 4) Meet weekly to go over the data he/she has collected on students. You should be the one to enter that data into whatever record-keeping system you use, so you know exactly where each student is working. 5) Build a professional and friendly rapport with the EA. Those weekly meetings give you the opportunity to listen to the EAs insights and feelings about the chilodren he/she teaches, and are usually insightful. 6) If you learn something new/know of available professional development opportunities that would be beneficial, help to facilitate the EA's professional growth. For example, I scheduled a training from our district ELL department on SIOP techniques, which was very beneficial and appreciated. You don't have to do all the training
Re: [MOSAIC] question for Terry Decker/supervising ed techs
Hi Cathy, The thing that made doing observations easy and non-threatening for both my EAs and me was using the basic lesson plan I'd taught them to use as the format for observation. I also made sure to find several things to praise first, and then would ask questions about anything that I felt deviated from the lesson outline. For example, if the the EA didn't model a skill that students were practicing, I might ask how she/he'd modeled it previously, or asked how she'd know when her students understood that concept. Another way I handle it is to arrange for her to observe me or another EA/teacher with a similar group, then debrief with the same formal we use for observation. I try to couch it as a conversation about the children among teachers. I guess having a lesson format in place that has been taught as part of the training/professional development gives the EA a security blanket and the basis for good conversation about best practice that can be used in a non-threatening way. I hope that helps. For me, it's finding the time and making arrangements to take the time to observe that is hard, as all observations need to have a follow-up with plenty of praise and practical suggestions. :) Terry --- On Thu, 6/14/12, CAG cag...@myfairpoint.net wrote: From: CAG cag...@myfairpoint.net Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] question for Terry Decker/supervising ed techs To: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group mosaic@literacyworkshop.org Date: Thursday, June 14, 2012, 6:39 PM Thanks, Terry and Linda. I agree 100% with both of you and everything you say. Linda - I like the phrase 'pause-prompt-praise' - I needed something easy to put in volunteers'/EA's brains. Terry - your third point of mini-observations is my biggest discomfort. Can you speak more to that? Thanks. Cathy - Original Message - From: Linda Rightmire lindarightm...@gmail.com To: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group mosaic@literacyworkshop.org Sent: Thursday, June 14, 2012 7:44 PM Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] question for Terry Decker/supervising ed techs Terry, I leave in your full comments on EAs. Great suggestions especially with the amount of back and forth interaction you have detailed. Interesting comment re Allington -- also a longtime favorite of mine -- that he disagrees with EAs for assisting weaker students. I know one of his major points is expert help for those kids. However, I feel a live, warm body is better than a computer (that responds with whatever ding or boink when you're right or wrong ;/ ). I speak of using volunteers. I recruited volunteers very selectively -- not from the general parent population per se, but often from my educated friends (including retirees). (My husband will regularly find me at a gathering chatting up a friend -- turns out we're discussing whether I can rope them in to help one half hour a week.) No they are not trained specifically at length -- but I did train them and give them ongoing feedback. I have had this argument with other university personnel, and I think those kids need *both* (obviously, I'd say). They need my expertise, but they also need a lot of oral reading practice at a suitable level (in self-chosen material, another Allington 'pillar' of reading instruction) -- practise reading with a friendly adult who has a bit of training. You can train as to 'pause-prompt-praise' (just one simple approach people can remember, not my invention). For example, it is common for adults to think they must instantly say, no, and interrupt that second. Reading Recovery taught us to use -- *after* the paragraph or whatever -- Let's look at that, there's a tricky bit here, and You said whatever miscue -- what would we expect it to look like [or sound like] if it was miscue? In more substantial material (or with very struggling students) I would also encourage the adult to take a turn -- read for a page or two, just to improve comprehension, establish some of the vocabulary, share enjoyment, etc. And so on. Great stuff, thanks, Terry. Linda Rightmire SD #73 Kamloops, BC On Thu, Jun 14, 2012 at 9:51 AM, Terry Decker deckerteac...@yahoo.comwrote: Hi Cathy, I'm sorry I'm so slow getting a response to you. Life's been very hectic, as you know from the teaching at the end of the year perspective. As for supervising EAs, I've found it to be one of the most rewarding parts of my job as our school's Title 1 teacher/Literacy Specialist supervisor. There are a few things that I think have helped our team to be successful, and I hope this is what you're wanting. If not, maybe this will trigger specific questions I can answer. 1) Hire the right EA. If you have input on personnel, I'd opt for experience as much as possible. I have 3 retired teachers on my team, and they're wonderful. They have the background, the teacher work ethic, and the love of children. I also have 2 EAs
Re: [MOSAIC] question for Terry Decker/supervising ed techs
Linda, I don't get to use much volunteer help in my Title 1 setting--time frames are sticky. I did use them much as you suggest when I taught a regular classroom. We do train educated volunteers to work in our after-school reading intervention program. There is always good reason for caring adults to be involved with kids--hence the rationale for SMART reading. It certainly doesn't replace explicit instruction, but it does help. Our after-school volunteers are trained to work with children as you've outlined, plus we taught them a system for working with vocabulary and questioning for comprehension. Thanks for the volunteer angle, which does really help students who come from homes where parents don't read with them. Terry --- On Thu, 6/14/12, Linda Rightmire lindarightm...@gmail.com wrote: From: Linda Rightmire lindarightm...@gmail.com Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] question for Terry Decker/supervising ed techs To: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group mosaic@literacyworkshop.org Date: Thursday, June 14, 2012, 5:44 PM Terry, I leave in your full comments on EAs. Great suggestions especially with the amount of back and forth interaction you have detailed. Interesting comment re Allington -- also a longtime favorite of mine -- that he disagrees with EAs for assisting weaker students. I know one of his major points is expert help for those kids. However, I feel a live, warm body is better than a computer (that responds with whatever ding or boink when you're right or wrong ;/ ). I speak of using volunteers. I recruited volunteers very selectively -- not from the general parent population per se, but often from my educated friends (including retirees). (My husband will regularly find me at a gathering chatting up a friend -- turns out we're discussing whether I can rope them in to help one half hour a week.) No they are not trained specifically at length -- but I did train them and give them ongoing feedback. I have had this argument with other university personnel, and I think those kids need *both* (obviously, I'd say). They need my expertise, but they also need a lot of oral reading practice at a suitable level (in self-chosen material, another Allington 'pillar' of reading instruction) -- practise reading with a friendly adult who has a bit of training. You can train as to 'pause-prompt-praise' (just one simple approach people can remember, not my invention). For example, it is common for adults to think they must instantly say, no, and interrupt that second. Reading Recovery taught us to use -- *after* the paragraph or whatever -- Let's look at that, there's a tricky bit here, and You said whatever miscue -- what would we expect it to look like [or sound like] if it was miscue? In more substantial material (or with very struggling students) I would also encourage the adult to take a turn -- read for a page or two, just to improve comprehension, establish some of the vocabulary, share enjoyment, etc. And so on. Great stuff, thanks, Terry. Linda Rightmire SD #73 Kamloops, BC On Thu, Jun 14, 2012 at 9:51 AM, Terry Decker deckerteac...@yahoo.comwrote: Hi Cathy, I'm sorry I'm so slow getting a response to you. Life's been very hectic, as you know from the teaching at the end of the year perspective. As for supervising EAs, I've found it to be one of the most rewarding parts of my job as our school's Title 1 teacher/Literacy Specialist supervisor. There are a few things that I think have helped our team to be successful, and I hope this is what you're wanting. If not, maybe this will trigger specific questions I can answer. 1) Hire the right EA. If you have input on personnel, I'd opt for experience as much as possible. I have 3 retired teachers on my team, and they're wonderful. They have the background, the teacher work ethic, and the love of children. I also have 2 EAs who have worked in Title for many years and one certified teacher (secondary math--but still a teacher) who just wanted part-time because of family...It helps when your EAs don't have to learn the ropes from the ground up. 2) Take time to train your EAs on exactly which programs, progress monitoring tools, and routines you want to use. Make sure he/she can use materials with fidelity. 3) Find a way (and this is a hard one for me, but I found it helps a lot ) to do regular mini-observations on your EA to support her/him and for your peace of mind that the students are getting what they need. This will also help support the EA and give you the opportunity to answer specific questions about practice. This is particularly important if your EA has no prior teaching background. 4) Meet weekly to go over the data he/she has collected on students. You should be the one to enter that data into whatever record-keeping system you use, so you know exactly where each student is working. 5) Build a professional and friendly rapport with the EA. Those
